Wire severing machines



March 17, 1959 R. T. CAMERON 2,877,345 V WIRE SEVERING MACHINES Filed Nov. 6, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet l '1 "I INVENTOR.

R. 7. GYIME BOA/ J 2 X g flflvB/v Y.

March 17, 1959 R. T. CAMERON WIRE SEVERING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheei 2 Filed Nov. 6, 1955 INVENTOR. 7?. 7" 6 7 7550 B1; 2 g g R. T. CAMERON WIRE SEVERING MACHINES March 17, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 6, 1953' INVENTOR. E. 7. CWME/Efl/V I flTTGE/VE WIRE SEVERING MACHINES Robert T. Cameron, Clifton, N. J., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application November 6, 1953, Serial No. 390,601

Claims. (Cl. 164-49) This invention relates to wire forming and severing machines, and more particularly to a machine for manufacture of lead-in wires, known in the trade as spuds, for use in lamps and other electrical devices of similar character.

It is common practice in the lamp and electronic tube industry to provide lead-in wires, a section of each of which is of special composition known as dumet wire, the feature of which is its ability to form a vacuum-tight seal where passing through a press of glass therearound. Only a short section of the dumet wire is needed, and it is butt welded at its end to another piece of wire, for instance, tungsten or molybdenum, which constitutes the balance of the lead-in wire within the lamp or the like and to which the electrode, such as a filament, is subsequently attached. These spuds, comprising said buttwelded sections, have heretofore been made singly by bringing ends of long lengths of the two types of wire together and butt-welding with an electric arc thereat, each wire being cut at an appropriate distance from the weld. Output is limited to the speed with which thetwo wires can be fed, cut and welded. According to the present invention, the primary object is to double theoutput of a machine with the same speed of feed of the wires as heretofore used.

More specifically, the invention provides a machine wherein spuds are first made substantially of double length and cut in half to thereby make two spuds at the same speed of prior art manufacture of only one.

Other objects of the invention will appear to persons skilled in the art to which it appertains as the description proceeds, both by direct recitation thereof and by in ference from the context.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views;

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine embodying my invention;

FigureyZ is, anelevation of the Welded sections of wire as formed ready for severing, and herein designated as the work piece;

Figure 3 is a similar elevation of the welded sections as cut into two spuds by the machine of Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional plan of the machine substantially on a plane diametric to the wire-transferring rotor;

Figures 5 and 6 are plan views on a somewhat increased scale and showing the cutters and wire sections respectively before and after the wire is severed;

Figures 7 and 8 are side elevations of Figs. 5 and 6 respectively but without the wire being included; and

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the adjustable mount for the pillow block shown in part only in this view.

Inasmuch as, butt-welding of one wire to another has long been practiced in the art, the drawings have not been complicated by inclusion of that part of the machine mechanism. The omitted structure feeds two wires toward each other in axial alignment, but in this instance they are spaced longitudinally from each other a suflicient distance to admit transverse introduction of a third piece of wire, pre-cut to length, to axially align with and fill the gap between the first mentioned wires. An electric. weld is performed at the butt junctions of the third piece of wire with the first two. Said first two wires are fed to their stated locations from a reel and are suitably retained and cut from the reel stock, so that after the welds have been performed a compound length of work-piece 10 results as shown in Fig. 2, comprising wire end pieces 11 having a dumet or intermediate wire piece 12 as an integral part of the work piece. The wire for the end pieces 11 may be of some other suitable material, such as tungsten, molybdenum and the like.

In the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in said drawings, two parallel and axially aligned discs 15 (Fig. 1) are provided on aligned shafts 16. The shafts, and therefore the discs, are driven in unison by suitable drive mechanism (not shown) with an intermittent or indexed movement, and for brevity said discs may be considered together as a rotor. These discs 15 each have a plurality of transverse peripheral wire-receiving notches 17, one for each indexed station. The feeding-in, cutting and welding of the wires is performed at the location of aligned notches of the two discs at substantially the uppermost or zenithal position thereof, thereby forming a work piece 10 extending across from disc to disc and carried thereby. The discs then index forwardly (Fig. 1) to the next station so again the notches arriving at the zenithal position receive the wires from the reel, and are cut and welded, and so on repetitiously as the machine operates. As the discs rotate forwardly, as viewed in Fig. 1, they come into peripheral contact with arcuate shoes 18 which keep the work-piece from dislodgement from the notches at the position of introduction of the wires until time for discharge therefrom.

A primary feature of the present invention is the severing of the work-piece 10 midway of its length to obtain two spuds 19, 19 of equal length and each having an equal length of dumet wire 12 at an end thereof (see Fig. 3). The machine, therefore, at the same rate of operation, forms two spuds at a time instead of just one as done in the prior art where two wires only have been fed and no intermediate cutting performed.

The severing mechanism of the present invention comprises essentially a relatively fixed cutter 20 and a co operating movable cutter 21 (Figs. 4, 5, 7 and 8) arranged to perform the cutting operation while the rotor is stationary and the work-piece located at one of the indexed stations and at the front of the discs, as viewed in Fig. 1. The mechanism includes a pillow-block 22, which, though adjustable in setting up the machine, has a fixed position in use, and both cutters are carried thereby so that the adjustments of the pillow-block moves both cutters simultaneously without disturbing their relationship to each other. Under the pillow-block and rigidly supporting the same, is an adjustable mount 23 carried by the machine.

The above-mentioned adjustable mount is here shown :as comprising a base plate 24 (Figs. 1, 4, 5 and 7-9) secured in fixed position on the machine. At the upper face of said base plate 'is a longitudinal dove-tail rib 25 parallel to the axis of the rotor and co-operating with a similarly shaped groove in the under face of a body portion 26 to slidably mount said body on the base plate :for adjustment lengthwise of the wire to be cut. Adjust- :ment may be obtained and maintained in any suitable manner. As here shown, there is a rectangular post 27 integral with and upstanding from rib 25 next to an end thereof. The body has a slot 28 spanning said post to permit longitudinal movement of said body. An adjust- I ing screw 29 longitudinally parallel to the dove-tail rib traverses the post and abuts the body. The body is first slid past the desired ultimate location and then returned accurately by manipulationof screw 29, and when in exact position is locked by set screws 30 at the front of the body which engage against the side of rib 25 upon being screwed home.

The pillow-block 22 (Figs. 1 and 4-9) has an adjustment transverse to the axis of the rotor to position the fixed cutter with exactitude at the side of the wire so as not to bend the wire when the cutter functions to sever it. As here shown, the bottom of the pillow-block has a dove-tail rib 31 and the top of the mount body 26 provides a corresponding groove. In this instance, one side of the groove is made by a filler strip 32 which can be clamped down upon the dove-tail of rib 31 by a locking screw 33 to retain the pillow-block in its adjusted position. In this instance the pillow-block has a depending car 34 at an outer end thereof, at the outside of the mount body 26, and extending below the level of the dove-tail rib 31. An adjusting screw 35 through the ear and engaging the body 26 enables the pillow-block to be accurately adjusted, after which it is clamped tightly by clamping action effected by locking screws 33.

The pillow-block 22 has an L-bracket 36 (Figs. -8) secured to the end thereof toward the rotor, said bracket projecting inwardly between the discs and upwardly between the same to an elevation appropriate to locate it behind the wire that is to be cut. At this part of the bracket cheeks 37 are provided substantially in contact with the wire to be cut and against which said wire may be pressed without noticeable deflection of said wire. Between the cheeks 37 is a hollow 38 to accommodate the male cutter or movable tool 21. The front edges of the hollow at the cheeks constitute fixed cutting edges 39 and constitute, with said checks, the fixed cutter 20. While those cutting edges are shown in the present instance as integral with the bracket, it will be understood that replaceable inserts to constitute the cutting edges may be employed in accordance with known practice in the construction of cutters.

The movabie tool 21 (Figs. 4-8) is shown as an elongated slider having a trackway between the top of the pillow-block 22 and under side of a header 40 secured, as by screws 41, on the top of said block. This tool is adapted to reciprocate toward and from the fixed cutter and is shown with a nose 42 (Figs. 4 and 5), hollowground at the sides, and adapted to make cutting or shearing contact with the cutting edges 39 of the fixed cutter. A short length of wire 43 equal in length to the thickness of said nose 42 is cut from the work-piece 10, and although that represents a small amount of waste, the double cut through the Wire has the decided advantage of making both of the retained severed ends of the spuds clean-cut and at right angles to the length of the spuds.

The cutting stroke of the movable tool is obtained by a continuously rotating cam 44 at the side of the pillowblock on a cam shaft 45 rotation of which has timed relation to the indexing drive for the rotor. The pillowblock has a slot 46 therein paralleling the tool and accommodates a stud 47 projecting laterally from the tool. A roller 48 on the stud lies in the path of rotation of cam 44 so that as the cam rotates it rides against said roller for elfecting lateral transition of the stud longitudinally of slot 4-6 and consequently longitudinal actuation of the tool. Retraction of the tool is shown as obtained by a spring 49.

During the cutting or severing of the work-piece, said work-piece is retained in the notches of the rotor discs by .the arcuate shoes 18 (Figs. 1 and 4) and said shoes terminate shortly after that operational location, so that as the rotor advances toward its next station the notches holding the cut spuds are open outwardly downward, pertmitting discharge of the spuds during that interval between stations. As the spudshave passed below the horizontal plane defined by the disc axis, they will normally gravitate out of the notches, but to be assured of discharge therefrom, air tubes 50 are arranged to direct air jets upon the spuds in a direction radially outward of the discs. As these jets are next to the severed ends of the spuds, they tend to swing the spuds so they will discharge with the severed end forward. A chute 51 (Fig. 1) having a fanned-out end next to the respective disc receives the severed and discharged spud which slides down the chute, aided by the air jet, into a receptacle 52 where it stands with others to neatly pack the spuds endwise in the container.

The containers or receptacles 52 (Fig. 1) are conveniently located in pockets 53 in circular tilted carriers 54, there being a plurality of such pockets so that an empty container may be revolved into spud-receiving position under the end of chute 51 as fast as a preceding one is filled, and substitution of empty receptacles for filled ones in said carrier taken care of periodically after several have been filled. The carriers are preferably mounted on vibrators 55 so the spuds will be aided in nestling together and becoming neatly compacted or stacked side by side within the receptacles.

I claim:

1. A wire forming and severing machine, comprising rotational means for transitionally advancing a wire work piece to successive indexed stations, a fixed cutter at one of said stations having cheeks adapted to be engaged by the work piece when located at that station, a slidable cutter having a cutting stroke substantially on a diameter of said rotational means and toward the work piece at the part thereof spanning between said cheeks, said slidable cutter making shearing engagement with edges of said cheeks, whereby said fixed and slidable cutters cooperate to sever a portion of predetermined length from the work piece to create two severed ends of equal lengths.

2. A wire forming and severing machine, comprising parallel axially aligned discs having wire-receiving notches crosswise of and in the peripheries thereof for receiving and for transitionally advancing a wire work piece to successive indexed stations, a fixed cutter at one of said stations having cheeks adapted to be engaged by the work piece when located at that station, a slidable cutter having a cutting stroke substantially on a diameter of said rotational means and toward the work piece at the part thereof spanning between said cheeks, said slidable cutter making shearing engagement with edges of said cheeks, whereby said fixed and slidable cutters cooperate to sever a portion of predetermined length from the work piece to create two severed ends of equal length.

3. A wire forming and severing machine, comprising rotational means for transitionally advancing a wire work piece to successive indexed stations, a fixed cutter at one of said stations having cheeks adapted to be engaged by the work piece when located at that station, a slidable cutter having a cutting stroke substantially on a diameter on said rotational means and toward the work piece at the part thereof spanning between said cheeks, said slidable cutter making shearing engagement with edges of said cheeks, whereby said fixed and slidable cutters cooperate to sever a portion of predetermined length, from the work piece to create two severed ends of equal length, guide means for separately receiving both of said severed ends and carrier means for receiving said severed ends from said guide means and stacking said severed ends.

4. A wire forming and severing machine, comprising rotational means for transitionally advancing a wire work piece to successive indexed stations, a fixed cutter at one of said stations having cheeks adapted to be engaged by the work piece when located at that station, a slidable cutter having a cutting stroke substantially on a diameter of said rotational means and toward the work piece at the part thereof spanning between said cheeks, and slidable cutter making shearing engagement with edges of said,

cheeks, whereby said fixed and slidable cutters cooperate to sever a portion of predetermined length from the work piece to create two severed e'ids of equal length, means for retaining the work piece and said severed ends in said rotational means during a part of the rotational orbit of said rotational means and means for effecting removal of said severed ends from said retaining means when the latter advances beyond said retaining means.

5. A wire forming and severing machine, comprising rotational means for transitionally advancing a Wire work piece to successive indexed stations, a fixed cutter at one of said stations having cheeks adapted to be engaged by the work piece when located at that station, a slidable cutter having a cutting stroke substantially on a diameter of said rotational means and toward the work piece at the part thereof spanning between said cheeks, said slidable cutter making shearing engagement with edges of said cheeks, whereby said fixed and slidable cutters cooperate to sever a portion of predetermined length from the work piece to create two severed ends of equal length, means for retaining the work piece and said severed ends in said rotational means during a part of the rotational orbit of said rotational means, means for effecting removal of said severed ends from said retaining means when the latter advances beyond said retaining means, guide means for separately receiving both of said severed ends and carrier means for receiving said severed ends from said guide means and stacking said severed ends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 923,552 Mill June 1, 1909 1,067,269 Palmer July 15, 1913 1,462,580 Rudenberg July 24, 1923 1,478,683 Stevens Dec. 25, 1923 1,641,222 Foisy Sept. 6, 1927 1,646,258 Raus et al Oct. 18, 1927 1,842,631 Rolle Ian. 26, 1932 1,918,369 Bechtold July 18, 1933 1,925,884 Steele Sept. 5, 1933 1,934,660 Fairchild Nov. 7, 1933 2,528,779 Pinney Nov. 7, 1950 2,566,644 Van Dertogt Sept. 4, 1951 2,568,028 Redmond Sept. 18, 1951 2,581,960 Kronenwetter Jan. 8, 1952 2,592,019 Farnet Apr. 8, 1952 2,725,101 Von Hofe Nov. 29, 1955 

